Sudan security seizes three dailies from the printing press again

The newspapers El Tayyar, El Youm El Tali and El Watan were confiscated for another day on Thursday morning. The management of El Jareeda and El Midan had foreseen the repeated confiscation by the security service and decided not to print yesterday.

“The situation for press freedom has reached a stage of crisis,” the Journalists for Human Rights Network said following the confiscations of the print-runs. Faisal El Bagir, the general coordinator for the network, said that the security apparatus, besides confiscating newspapers, also instructs journalists.

El Jareeda and El Ayam copies were seized on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday – the reason why El Jareeda decided not to publish on Thursday. The three newspapers confiscated on Thursday were also seized on Wednesday.

The editors-in-chief said they expected the reason for the confiscation likely to be the coverage of the civil disobedience actions in Khartoum in the beginning of this week.

“The security service starts with newspapers which it considers an enemy to the state, and then goes to the others which it regards as friendly, by confiscation and repression,” El Bagir said.

“The press will rely on the masses who now lead community initiatives against the oppression and violation of freedom of expression and press, until we regain our rights,” El Bagir said.